LIRA CITY, May 7, 2026 — The Minister of Health and Lira City Woman Member of Parliament, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, has urged government to increase the supply of coffee seedlings to farmers in the Lango sub-region in a bid to expand coffee cultivation and improve household incomes.
Aceng made the appeal recently at Lango College playground in Lira City during President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s visit to the region to celebrate his election victory, which he described as “a minor victory”.
She said farmers across Lango are increasingly embracing coffee growing due to the crop’s high global demand and income-generating potential.
According to Aceng, the number of coffee seedlings currently being supplied to the region is insufficient to meet the growing demand from farmers eager to venture into commercial agriculture under the Government’s four-acre model.
“The people of Lango are now ready to plant coffee. I want to report to you that the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has started sending seedlings, but the numbers are still inadequate. We ask you to support this process and provide even more seedlings because people are ready to practise the four-acre model,” she said.
In response, Museveni said the Government would launch a fresh programme to distribute free coffee and fruit seedlings to farmers across the country.
“We want to start a fresh programme of giving free seedlings of coffee and fruits. Since it is the Government promoting coffee and fruit growing, we should have an additional programme dedicated to providing free seedlings,” Museveni said.
The President added that the Government would establish more seed beds, including on public land, to increase seedling production.
“I have already developed seed beds in other areas and we are going to establish more. Government land will be used to produce seedlings that can be distributed free of charge in addition to the Parish Development Model [PDM]. This is my second priority,” he added.
Andrew Okello Awany, the Regional Agricultural Officer overseeing Lira, Otuke, Alebtong, Dokolo, Kalaki, Kaberamaido and Amolatar districts, said the demand for coffee seedlings was high across the country and allocations depended on available funding and farmers’ readiness.
“The demand does not only come from Lango; it comes from many districts. If requests exceed the available funding, there has to be reallocation. There is also a difference between demand and effective demand because some people may request seedlings before they are fully prepared to plant them. All these requests are aggregated and considered together,” Okello explained.
He urged registered farmers to remain patient, assuring them that more seedlings would continue to be distributed.
“We are likely to receive more coffee seedlings, so people should not panic. The seedlings already supplied are still substantial,” he said.
According to Okello, Lira District received 400,000 coffee seedlings, Lira City 150,000, and Alebtong District 200,000, among other allocations.
Uganda has for years pursued an ambitious coffee expansion programme aimed at increasing national coffee production from 4.3 million bags to 20 million bags annually. The initiative, launched in the 2015/16 financial year, is part of broader efforts to transform Uganda into a middle-income economy.
Currently, the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, continues to distribute coffee seedlings to farmers nationwide.
https://thecooperator.news/lango-church-leaders-train-in-coffee-growing-to-boost-household-incomes/
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